repérer

Forms

repérer^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French repère + -er.^{[2][3][1][4][5]} The noun is the same word as repaire “lair, den”, respelled after Latin reperiō (“to find again, discover”), with which it was wrongly connected.^[2][6][7][8] The older noun is a deverbal of Old French repairier (“to return home”), from Late Latin repatriō.^[7][8][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1676 as a past participle in Félibien's pièces repérées, timbers marked to show where they were to be joined.^[2][9][6]

Semantic evolution

The participle was used more widely from 1731.^[2][6] The infinitive is recorded in 1819 (Boiste) for marking with reference marks, and in 1932 Larousse gives technical uses for marking machine parts that must be fitted together.^[9][6][10] The reflexive se repérer, to find one's position by landmarks, appears in 1870.^[2][6]

In slang it came to mean to find or spot someone (1881), and to catch out (1894); in the First World War soldiers used it for locating the enemy (1915) and être repéré for being shelled after being located (1918).^[2][6] Se faire repérer “to get noticed” is recorded in 1922.^[6][9]

Timeline

• 1676 – Félibien writes pièces repérées.^[2][9]
• 1731 – The participle is used in a wider sense.^[2]
• 1819 – Boiste records the infinitive.^[9][6]
• 1870 – Littré records se repérer.^[2]
• 1881 – Rigaud's slang dictionary records the sense “to find”.^[2][9]
• 1915 – It is used in the army for locating the enemy.^[2]
• 1922 – Se faire repérer appears.^[6][9]
• 1923 – The derivative repérable is first recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To mark with reference marks; to fix a level or an alignment.^[11][9][1]
2. To locate precisely, using landmarks or markers: repérer une batterie ennemie.^[11][12]
3. (reflexive) Se repérer: to get one's bearings: Je n'arrive pas à me repérer dans ce quartier.^[11][1]
4. (familiar) To spot or pick out someone or something: Il a repéré sa sœur à la sortie du métro.^[11][1]
5. Se faire repérer: to get noticed, to be caught.^[6][9]

Related words

• repère

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 262a
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
11. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)